For lovers of the stage, Fresno City College’s production of Theresa Rebeck’s play “Mauritius” gave its last performance on Oct. 13.

Directed by FCC theater instructor Charles Erven, the play follows Jackie (Olivia Stemler) in her attempts to sell a rare set of stamps.  In her bidding, she must outplay her sister, Mary (Bridget Manders) and numerous dealers and con men, but she has more knowledge and wile than they’re ready to give her credit for.  Along the way, the plot twists multiple times right up until the final bow of the cast.

The first thing about this production of “Mauritius” is the cast.  The hateful sibling rivalry between Jackie and Mary was well-shown to the point that the audience is taking sides, hating one character and loving the other.  While Bridget Manders uses sentimentality as her weapon while playing the part of Mary, Olivia Stemler gave a powerful performance of her own.  She was able to demonstrate a tour de force of emotions in a powerhouse performance.

Meanwhile, much can also be said about Dennis (Mohammad Shehata). With just the right combination of humor and serious acting, he keeps the audience both entertained and involved throughout the production.  His antics, of course, injected an interesting humor to piece.  His comic antics could only be described as “Seinfeld-esque,” but they worked perfectly throughout.

The stage directions by Mary Romero were well-executed.  Deploying a revolving set to change scenes, there is an interesting feel added to the con game being played out before the audience.

Meanwhile, costumes were well done and makeup was deployed perfectly.

Overall, this may be one of the best plays put on at FCC, but one would expect nothing less from Charles Erven.

Grade: A